Prince William Sound Science & Technology Institute

Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council Programs:Gulf Watch AlaskaThe Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council (EVOSTC) is supporting a long-term monitoring program in the Gulf of Alaska region affected by the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill. The monitoring program, called Gulf Watch Alaska, involves more than 25 scientists from multiple agencies, universities, and non-profits and seeks to provide data to identify and help understand the impacts of multiple ecosystem factors on the recovery of injured resources. This program is expected to be 20 years in length but is planned and funded in five-year increments. It builds a legacy of restoration research and monitoring by the EVOSTC and federal and state agencies dating back to 1989. The program includes sites in Prince William Sound, lower Cook Inlet, the Gulf of Alaska, and the outer Kenai Peninsula coast. This year has an overlap between two five-year segments. Mariculture ReCon The Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council (EVOSTC) is supporting a mariculture research program. The overall objective of the Mariculture Research and Restoration Consortium (Mariculture ReCon) is to support resporation, habitat enhancement, and economic development through research and partnerships between scientists and seaweed and shellfish farmers. This suite of applied research components takes a farm-centered approach to address EVOSTC restoration, economic development, outreach, administration, and data management interests that overlap top priorities identified by stakeholders and the Alaska Mariculture Development Plan Developed by the Governors Mariculture Task Force. Results will inform shellfish and seaweed production with farmers as full participants in the research.

Government Programs:EVOSTC New FacilitiesThe Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council is supporting the development of new facilities for the Prince William Sound Science Center. The new facilities include warehouse, office, and research and education spaces. Over $23 million has been pledged to cover costs associated with the new campus. The funds are being administered by the Alaska Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development. CORaL Network The Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council is supporting an education and outreach program titled, Community Organized Restoration and Learning [CORaL] Network. The purpose is to create and maintain an ongoing framework that builds the capacity of existing resources withing the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill impacted region to ensure that current scientific information, skills, and activities are publicly accessible and serve ongoing needs as identified by local communities. These funds are being administered by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. BSEE Herder/Burner This is a Joint Industry Program that uses funding from OSRI, ExxonMobil, Shell, Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, and Clean Caribbean Americas for the development of new oil spill response technology. A remotely operated surface vessel is being developed that can apply chemical herders and ignite herded slicks for in-situ burns. The system will carry remote sensing capabilities and can be controlled locally or through a satellite link. AOOS - Alaska Ocean Observing System This project, funded by NOAA via the Alaska Ocean Observing System, continues implementation of the Prince William Sound (PWS) Observing System (PWSOS). The PWSOS collects ocean, atmospheric and biological observations for use by stakeholders. PWSOS supported tracking of marine organisms using the passive acoustic Ocean Tracking Network, salinity measurements at the Cordova tide station, and the maintenance of the SNOTEL meteorological stations. AOOS Intuitive model-driven particle tracking tools A team of researchers is developing a particle tracking tool that can be overlayed on oceanographic circulation models to allow users to visualize trajectories of drifters, disabled ships, oil spills, and larvae. The focus is connecting the tools to the Cook Inlet Operational Forecast System model used by NOAA. AKSSF Evaluating in-river mortality of Copper River sockeye salmon The Alaska Sustainable Salmon Fund provided support to radio tag sockeye salmon traveling up the Copper River. The fish were measured and weighed prior to tagging to determine their fitness. Radio towers allowed the fish to be detected as they moved upstream. The fish were also searched for on the spawning grounds. This provided the information needed to determine how fitness determined survival during migration and success at the spawning grounds. AKSSF Run timing, spawning distribution, and survival of Copper River sockeyeThe Alaska Sustainable Salmon Fund provided support to radio tag sockeye salmon traveling up the Copper River. The tags were detected at towers along the river and using aerial surveys. The aerial surveys allowed the determination of the final spawning grounds based on the time the fish entered the system and were tagged.NPRB - Automation of Sockeye Salmon Scale Estimation This project examines the ability of using machine vision and deep learning to automate the reading of Sockeye Salmon scales to determine their age. Automation has the potential to improve management of salmon fisheries. Precise age information is critical to the evaluation of escapement goals, the generation of pre-season forecasts, and the long-term monitoring of population structure. NPRB Seabird use of spatially-predictable tidal rips This project adds a bird and mammal component to a physical oceanography project that is separately sponsored by BOEM. The purpose is to discover if birds and mammals are preferentially using tide rips in Cook Inlet. By understanding how birds and mammals use oceanographic features we can better predict potential impacts of oil spills. NOAA Empowering kelp faming The seaweed mariculture industry in Prince William Sound needs market development, science-backed information on best practices, and local capacity to improve the probability of success. This work has kelp farmers and biologists collaborating to establish a kelp nursery in Cordova, AK, and evaluate best practices for collecting seed stock from fertile tissue. NOAA Climate adaptation and resilience This project addresses the critical need for fishing communities in the Gulf of Alaska to formalize fisheries resilience strategies in adaptation plans, focusing on three of the most highly dependent and divers fishing communities in the region Cordova, Kodiak, and Sitka. The project will advance integrated scientific research and build partnerships between scientists, fishermen, Tribes, and Tribal citizens to enhance local planning capacity and responsiveness to climate change. NPS Migratory success of Copper River Sockeye Salmon This project aims to integrate prior and ongoing radio-telemetry data on Copper River sockeye spawning migration with several long-term ADF&G data sets to develop forecasting models to predict migratory success by incorporating new information from a recently available hydrological model developed by USGS. BOEM Cook Inlet Physical Oceanography With support from the Bureau of Ocean and Energy Management this project is pulling together the existing data from Cook Inlet, modeling factors that affect circulation, and make field measurements as needed to fill gaps identified in the analysis of the existing data. NPS Examining the health metrics of sockeye salmon This project supports a UAF led project. It collects tissue samples and energetics estimates from Copper River sockeye salmon. In collaboration with UAF it helps to analyze the data and supports energetic modeling efforts. USFWS Aleutian Tern The Aleutian Tern Technical Committee working group is undertaking a project to determine the current distribution and abundance of Aleutian terns at a statewide scale. This project uses aerial surveys to identify current breeding colonies, and on-the-ground access to estimate tern abundance. PWSMFC Empowering coastal Alaska by building local capacity for kelp farming This project strives to increase seaweed mariculture success by addressing market development, science-backed information on best practices, and local capacity in collaboration with local mariculture farms and biologists. There is a focus on best practices for collecting and growth of seed stock. EDA Seaweed nursery expansion This program provides equipment needed to allow PWSSC serve as a nursery facility for local seaweed mariculture operations.